Amanda Pritchard, the Chief Executive of the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, is urging British lawmakers to take action to prevent young people from becoming addicted to cryptocurrency trading.
Speaking at the ConfedExpo of NHS managers in Manchester on June 12, Pritchard highlighted the opening of the NHS’s fifteenth specialist gambling addiction clinic earlier this year in response to the increasing social need. She emphasized the need for society to consider whether it is acceptable to continue dealing with the repercussions of addiction while the methods used to keep individuals hooked become more sophisticated.
Pritchard expressed concerns about the addictive nature of investing in cryptocurrencies, which have no fixed value, and the burden it places on the NHS. She questioned the allocation of finite resources and whether the NHS should only act as a safety net for the consequences of addiction.
In June last year, King Charles introduced legislation to regulate cryptocurrency under the same rules as other financial services. However, the UK Treasury rejected a proposal in July 2023 to regulate crypto retail trading as gambling, opting instead to regulate it as a financial service. Economic Secretary Bim Afolami indicated that more regulations are on the horizon, bringing activities like operating an exchange and taking custody of customer assets under regulatory oversight for the first time.
The rise of gambling in the cryptocurrency space has attracted many users to high-risk tokens in pursuit of significant gains. Memecoins, which often lack intrinsic value, have gained popularity despite the risks involved. Decentralized crypto exchanges offer users the opportunity to make leveraged bets on token prices, leading to significant liquidations when trades go awry. The online crypto space has also witnessed a surge in crypto gambling platforms, with Polymarket standing out with nearly $29 million in locked value, offering bets on various events including niche predictions like whether Elon Musk will ban Apple devices at his companies.
On June 11, Australia prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies and credit cards for online gambling platforms to align regulations with offline gambling activities. As concerns grow about cryptocurrency trading addiction, it is important to be vigilant and aware of the signs of addiction and seek appropriate treatment.